Social media influencers are having a “massive impact” on the Lake District and can be a force for good and bad in the national park, says a report presented to last Thursday night’s meeting of Keswick Town Council.
Peter Walter, a Lake District National Park Authority board member, says that social media influencers have caused lots of problems with previously untouched spots in the world heritage site suddenly becoming over-run with visitors with some causing damage, parking badly and camping illegally.
He reports that the LDNPA’s visitor management team are constantly trying to keep on top of which influencers are saying what and knowing where to send enforcement officers.
But he says that it is not all bad as social media has played a large part in the massive increase in the number of young people accessing the park, many discovering the joys of camping and hiking for the first time.
“Where we see a sudden surge in the number of visitors hitting a particular spot – for camping or swimming for example – it is often as a result of the location becoming popular with people on social media who have tens of thousands of followers,” Mr Walter, a former chair of Keswick Tourism Association (KTA) told the Reminder. “Social media has been hugely influential in bringing new – younger – visitors to the Lakes. If you ask any young person on the fells how they found out about the walk they are on they will say ‘social media’.
“Some people with tens of thousands of followers, post great content highlighting the beauty of the Lakes that inspires new people to visit. Some provide excellent advice – ‘leave no trace’, ‘respect the land owners’, ‘camp high and leave early’ and so on. They are inspiring new people to fall in love with the Lakes and discover a whole new interest in the outdoors.
“But some people post about camping where they are not allowed, or having a fire where they are not allowed – this only exacerbates the problems we face.
“The challenge is dealing with the anti-social behaviour of a small minority of visitors. Everyone who sees litter, camping detritus or the remnants of fires will be sickened by the selfish behaviour of some people.”
In his report, Mr Walter says that every national park has a legal obligation to promote enjoyment and understanding in the park for all. But he asks what is the solution to managing the problems that a small number of people cause. He answers his own question by saying that just as social media influencers can cause problems they can also be part of the solution.
“We are seeing some highly prolific people posting brilliant content telling their followers to leave no trace, advising where it’s OK to camp and where it’s not and even praising the national park’s enforcement officers,” he says.
“Such influencers are not saints – and some older posts include lakeside fires and illegal camping spots – but if we can get people who have 50,000 followers to be champions of the park and to post about responsible behaviour it will probably have a greater impact than any other form of intervention.”
Mr Walter added that he was encouraged by the increase in people posting about good behaviour.
“Social media can be a force for good and bad – but it has a massive impact and it is here to stay,” he said.
Illegal Lake District campers leave huge mess – The Keswick Reminder
Lake District communities pay the price when ‘hidden gems’ go viral – The Keswick Reminder
